One of the makers of the Showyou app. That's Ilie Nastase btw. I'm camera shy for a reason.

A Better Television

What if you re-invented television using the Internet, with it’s diversity and choice, and made it not just more open but more friendly as a result? Where a creator anywhere in the world could set up their own subscription video channel, supported by fans instead of ads. And where fans could get (and pay for!) just the channels they want, and watch on the device of their choice.

We launched something like that today with two big new additions to Showyou:

A Channel Store, where fans get exactly the channels they want, and can directly support the channels they love.

Why a subscription platform? Why not an ad-supported platform?

First, we think there is already a great free, open, ad-supported video platform — YouTube. We weren’t convinced the world really needed another.

Second, we believe that advertising isn’t always the best, or right, option for all creators, all of the time.

Advertising works great for channels that reach tens of millions, or hundreds of millions, of viewers. But what about the programming that’s important and compelling — essential, even — for 1000s, or 10,000s, or 100,000s of fans? What platform was built for them, and helps those creators to make a living?

For the last 20 years, the Internet has given us new ways to create things, to express ourselves, to entertain and to inform others. Where it’s fallen short is in enabling creators to make money to sustain their creative work. Many platforms have launched with the following approach: “Give it away for free, we’ll sell (or let you sell) some ads, maybe you’ll make some money.” It’s a little bit like a casino, where the house always wins and sometimes a creator draws a lucky hand.

Over the last 4-5 years, some platforms have been launched that begin to remedy that. We’re honored to share office space with one of those pioneers, Bandcamp, a great service that help artists sell their music (and merch!) directly to their fans and that gives artists a fair shake. We have been inspired by their journey, and also by platforms and services (Kickstarter, VHX, and Patreon to name a few) that help creators get paid, and help them to sustain their creative work.

We launched our subscription platform and channel store today because we wanted to give creators another option, a different kind of platform, that sustains and encourages new and different kinds of programming. That allows creators and producers to entertain, inspire, and inform their fans, and to be directly supported by those fans.

And if we can do a good job of helping creators, we’ll give their fans (and everyone, really) better television. With more diversity and choice, with programming from independent creators from all over the world, making interesting things for us all to watch, and where people experience the joy that comes from directly supporting creators you love, and getting exactly the channels you want.